Earlier this week, Blizzard suspended and rescinded the winnings of Chung “Blitzchung” Ng Wai, a Hong Kong-based Hearthstone professional who called for the liberation of Hong Kong during a post-game interview. The publisher defended its decision by claiming that Wai’s statements violated official competition rules, but gamers weren’t fooled: many saw it as a veiled attack on free speech and democracy.
[BREAKING] Hong Kong Hearthstone player @blitzchungHS calls for liberation of his country in post-game interview:https://t.co/3AgQAaPioj
— 🎃 Inven Global 🎃 (@InvenGlobal) October 6, 2019
@Matthieist #Hearthstone pic.twitter.com/DnaMSEaM4g
A massive boycott campaign has been launched against Blizzard in response. “Some users said they were deleting Blizzard games from their game collections, and threatened to cancel subscriptions to World of Warcraft.”
The #BoycottBlizzard hashtag is currently generating a tweet every few seconds on Twitter. “It’s about money,” wrote Kristopher Lad. “@Blizzard_Ent should stand with democracy. People can say whatever they want especially #FreeHongKong, there is nothing wrong in saying you stand with a nation.” Twitter user Nick Hawkins accused Blizzard of being “spineless brown-nosing apologists for totalitarianism.”